Supplemental Draft Is Risky Proposition

The supplemental draft is the ultimate risk-reward game. It's high stakes gambling for NFL franchises and just like playing the odds in Atlantic City or Vegas, sometimes you hit the jackpot and other times you go broke.

The supplemental draft began in 1977. It was set up for players who, for one reason or the other, lost their remaining eligibility in college.

Since its inception there have been many more busts then gems, but some true diamonds have been found and that's what keeps the supplemental draft intriguing, NFL clubs never know when gold will be found so they keep prospecting looking for those nuggets.

The results have not been outstanding to say the least.

Of the 34 prospects from the supplemental drafts between 1977 and 2005, nine never played a single snap in a regular-season game and 16 never started. Only four made a Pro Bowl appearance. Just five carved out careers that included 100 or more games. The average career span for those 34 players is 44.1 regular-season appearances, the equivalent of less than three full seasons in the league.

None has been elected to the Hall of Fame, although wide receiver Cris Carter, who ranks second in NFL history in career receptions, should become the first in the next few years. A fourth-round choice of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1987 supplemental draft, Carter is a rare success story from the summertime lottery.

There are 10 prospects in Thursday's supplemental draft. From that group, there probably are three viable candidates -- Georgia cornerback Paul Oliver, and offensive tackles Jared Gaither of Maryland and Nebraska's Chris Patrick -- to be selected. Any team that uses a pick in the supplemental draft must forfeit its corresponding choice in the April 2008 draft and be able to fit the player into its 2007 rookie pool allocation.

It is, for sure, a dicey proposition.

For every great pick (Carter, Bernie Kosar, Rob Moore, Mike Wahle or Jamal Williams) there are many more Manny Wright's or Brian Bosworth's.

That's the chance you take in the supplemental draft. You roll the dice and hope for seven or eleven, but sometimes you get a 2, 3 or 12 instead.